Tigerclaw's Nine Lives
by Amberpaw RiverClan Apprentice
Summary: This is my Warriors fanfic of what I think Tigerclaw's nine lives would be. Enjoy.
1. Getting There

The medicine cat apprentice Littlecloud led Tigerclaw to the big cave. Tigerclaw ran inside of it and Littlecloud slowly followed him inside. Tigerclaw turned his head to Littlecloud. "What do I do?" Tigerclaw asked. "Just touch the Moonstone with your nose and go to sleep." The brown medicine cat replied. Tigerclaw slowly walked to the Moonstone. He touched it with his nose. A jolt of cold hit him, but as soon as it started, it was over. Tigerclaw curled up beside the Moonstone and fell asleep.

Tigerclaw walked around in a dark forest. Lots of dark pine trees surrounded him. Tigerclaw walked around, looking for an exit of the pine trees. Tigerclaw felt how hollow the land was. This meant that the pine trees were on a cliff, and Tigerclaw was on the cliff. He started running at the speed of wind. The only thing he heard was his paws hitting the ground. The cliff ended, and Tigerclaw leaped off of it. Possibly, enough pressure when he landed would wake him up. Tigerclaw landed again, but this time, he was in a forest similar to the ThunderClan forest. He saw a big lake ahead of him. The dark tabby slowly padded into the lake and sat on a rock in it. There was another rock in front of him, but it was pale gray. Tigerclaw noticed a ripple in the water, and it started growing. Dark shadows of cats were surrounding him.

"Good evening, Tigerclaw." Voices of cats meowed. "Congratulations on becoming leader of ShadowClan. Your life givers area here. We could not get you to Fourtrees to receive your lives, but we gave you a different setting." Tigerclaw looked around with wide, astonished eyes. Tigerclaw didn't want to admit it, but he did love the setting. "This is the Liferock. The cats that will give you your nine lives with sit on this rock." Tigerclaw felt cats put their presence at the pale gray stone. "Are you ready to recieve your nine lives?" The voices asked. Tigerclaw nodded. "Yes. I am ready." The soon-to-be ShadowClan leader looked at the Liferock and waited.


	2. Leopardfoot

A small light appeared above the Liferock. The light started to grow bigger, and before Tigerclaw knew it the light was bigger than him. Wind came out of the light and the wind blew against Tigerclaw's face. He was hit with a warm scent; the scent of the ThunderClan nursery when Tigerclaw was just a kit. A body covered by a shadow leaped out of the light. The shadow landed on the Liferock. The darkness of the cat faded, and the cat was revealed to be Leopardfoot, Tigerclaw's mother. The black she-cat looked at Tigerclaw with fond green eyes. _"This must be a joke."_ Tigerclaw thought. _"I killed the deputy of ThunderClan, and my mother still supports me?" _Leopardfoot sensed Tigerclaw's confusion and snorted in disgust. "That dumb Goosefeather, saying you weren't a whisker of StarClan. He must've gone insane. No matter what, you are still my son. In my heart, you are a cat of StarClan." Leopardfoot widened her green eyes. "With this life, I give you care. Use it for all of ShadowClan, young or old." Leopardfoot touched Tigerclaw's forehead with her nose. The new life was soothing and warm, and it felt like a summer breeze going through Tigerclaw. Leopardfoot looked at Tigerclaw with soft eyes. "Be a good leader…" She meowed softly. She then walked off the Liferock and sat on a stepping stone in the lake.


	3. Pinestar

Tigerclaw didn't realize that Leopardfoot still loved him, in spite of the fact that Tigerclaw killed cats, attempted to kill Bluestar and tried to make ThunderClan turn on Ravenpaw.

The next light appeared over the Liferock. It was glowing so brightly; it even made the sky go pale gray. A shadowy shape jumped out of the light. It seemed that the cat jumped high enough to stay in the air for an amount of time for wind to come out of the light. As the wind hit Tigerclaw's face, he inhaled warm scents of Twoleg gardens and kittypet food. The light and smell disappeared, and the cat landed swiftly on the Liferock. The shadow on the cat's body faded out, and the color on the cat was reddish brown. Tigerclaw choked back a yowl of surprise when he saw the cat's neck. He had a collar. This cat was Pinestar, Tigerclaw's father. "Kittypet! What are _you _doing here?" Tigerclaw growled. "To give you a life." Pinestar replied smoothly. Tigerclaw unsheathed his long, sharp claws, but at Pinestar's gaze, Tigerclaw sheathed them. "With your second life, I give you wisdom, so you know what is best for your Clan." Pinestar mewed. The tom's nose touched Tigerclaw's head, and the new life was painful, as if Tigerclaw was being struck by lightning made out of fire. Pinestar put his face back, and looked at Tigerclaw in the eye. _"Should I forgive him?"_ Tigerclaw thought. Pinestar took one last look at Tigerclaw before going to the lake and sat in it beside Leopardfoot.


	4. Mistkit

Tigerclaw was struck with confusion after seeing Pinestar. Should he forgive him after leaving to be a kittypet? Another light appeared above the Liferock. A tiny gray kit cautiously stepped onto the rock. "A kit?" Tigerclaw asked suspiciously, with a hint of laughter. "I'm getting a life from a kit?" The kit stared at him silently with wide eyes. A cold breeze of wind went through her pale gray fur, and for a heartbeat Tigerclaw saw a huge gray warrior she-cat with a battle scarred pelt with the scent of ThunderClan. Then, the cat went back to her normal kit size. "Not just a kit, Tigerclaw." The kit mewed. "I'm Mistkit, one of your dead sisters." Tigerclaw choked back a yowl of surprise. A sister? If such a cat hadn't died, she would have been a great warrior! Mistkit's eyes started to brighten in the dark. "With your third life, I give you justice. Use it well to be a good leader to all the ShadowClan warriors." Mistkit jumped into the air, quick and high enough to touch Tigerclaw's head. The new life felt like a jolt of pain. Tigerclaw felt scratches and bites of battle. Mistkit stared at Tigerclaw with wide eyes, and Tigerclaw could see the reflection ShadowClan cats, marshes, claws and fangs. Mistkit took one last look at Tigerclaw and walked into the lake, beside Leopardfoot.


	5. Nightkit

Another glowing light appeared above the Liferock. A small, black kit jumped out of the light and stepped onto the Liferock. The kit looked up at Tigerclaw with blazing amber eyes. "Are you another one of my sisters?" Tigerclaw asked. The kit nodded. "I am Nightkit, I died too, as a kitten" She meowed. Wind flew past Nightkit, and for a heartbeat, she was taller now, not as muscular as Mistkit, though. She had herbs in her mouth, and she carried the scent of medicine. If she had lived, she would have been a medicine cat! Nightkit went back to her normal kit size as the wind stopped. "With your fourth life, I give you protection." She mewed. "Use it as if all the Clan are your kits." Nightkit's nose touched Tigerclaw's head, and the new life was a jolt of cold pain, as fierce as TigerClan. Tigerclaw felt scratches and bites on him, and the heat of battle growing inside of him. A leader would die to protect a Clan. _"Is protection really this fierce?" _Tigerclaw thought. Nightkit turned her body from Tigerclaw, turned her head to take one last look at him, and walked into the lake, in front of Pinestar's paws.


	6. Brokenstar

As Tigerclaw waited on the rock behind the Liferock, a flash of lightning went through the sky. It created a giant wave in the water, and a silouhette of a cat leaped out and landed on the Liferock. As the lightning died away, Tigerclaw recognized the amber eyes, flattened face, dark brown tabby pelt and bent tail. It was Brokenstar. "Greetings, Tigerclaw." He whispered. "It was a good idea for us to lead rogues into the camp. Now you're on the path to leadership. Promise you won't be a soft, foolish leader like Raggedstar was." He unsheathed his claws. Tigerclaw gave a small, uneasy nod. Brokenstar touched his scarred nose to Tigerclaw's. "With this life I give you determination." He meowed. "Use it well to rise above everyone else." A jolt of pain hit Tigerclaw that felt like water, flames and ice combined. He felt water overflow him, as if he was drowning, and the cold water was holding him back. But he then felt wind blow past him as the feeling of wet water in his fur died down, and the cold slowly became hotter. And hotter, and hotter. Like flames. Brokenstar walked off the Liferock, leaving Tigerclaw shivering. Without looking back, he lowered his head. "Remember TigerClan, LionClan and LeopardClan, Tigerclaw. Be fierce, not soft." He growled. He sat in the shallow lake beside Pinestar, and the reddish-brown tom shifted to the right a bit, along with the kits.


	7. Raggedstar

A shining light was hovering above the Liferock. Tigerclaw caught sight of a large paw coming out of the light. Slowly, a large, powerful, battle-scarred dark brown tabby tom with ragged, patchy fur and one shredded ear walked onto the Liferock. This cat was Raggedstar. "What is _he _doing here?" Tigerclaw thought. "He was killed by

Brokenstar, a cat who supported me!" Raggedstar gave Tigerclaw a slight nod. The former ShadowClan leader touched his scarred pale pink nose to Tigerclaw's head. "With this life I give you courage." He meowed. "Use it as if you were plunging into darkness, and you will come out with not having lost one drop of blood." A jolt of pain hit Tigerclaw. Claws hit him, and it felt like a combination of lightning and flames had bashed through his entire body. Tigerclaw stiffened as the energy from the life started to die down. Raggedstar's hard yellow eyes said everything. The large tom walked into the lake and sat at the far right beside Leopardfoot, the farthest away he could get from Brokenstar.


	8. Nightstar

Another shining ball of brightness appeared over the Liferock. A muscular, large tom stepped out. Tigerclaw recognized the black, battered pelt of Nightstar. He had seen him a few times at Gatherings. But he was not old, frail and ill anymore. He was restored to a younger self, where he was a strong young ShadowClan warrior, around Yellowfang's time in ShadowClan. Tigerclaw was happy to see the old dark black tom who had never recieved his nine lives. His eyes were glowing with happiness and he was purring. "Congratulations, Tigerclaw," He mewed. He touched his black nose to Tigerclaw's head. "With this life I give you forethought." He purred. "Use it to reflect on former actions, and look forward to your next actions so you won't regret them." "Is he hinting on something?" Tigerclaw thought. After his quick thought, a pang of pain shook through him. It felt like icy, cold fangs bitings into him. As soon as it began, it was over. Nightstar walked into the lake, sitting beside Brokenstar. His head was high and his yellow eyes were shining as Tigerclaw stood trembling.


	9. Mapleshade

Now, instead of a glowing light, lightning cracked in the sky. Rain didn't fall though. A second after the lightning, everything went black. Tigerclaw tried to resist yowling in alarm. A heartbeat later, everything came back to light. An tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat walked out of the shadows and leaped onto the Liferock, claws unsheathed. Her amber eyes glittered. Expecting them to be scared, Tigerclaw looked at the other cats sitting in the lake that gave him his lives. But they were all calm - even the kits, Nightkit and Mistkit. The dark tabby tom let his gaze drift back to the she-cat. "My name is Mapleshade," She greeted herself. There was a sharp hissing in her voice, though she sounded and looked relaxed. "I was a ThunderClan warrior who was cast out for taking a RiverClan mate. My half-Clan kits died in the river, and my RiverClan mate took a mate from his own Clan! Now, I reside in the Dark Forest." "Serves you right for taking a RiverClan mate," Tigerclaw thought. "Just like Graystripe and that RiverClan she-cat." "But then," Mapleshade kept speaking. "I took away many parts of Crookedstar's life, like ripping clumps of fur out of your enemy." "C'mon, cut to the point, half-Clan mother!" Mapleshade touched her nose to Tigerclaw's head. "With this life I give you a sly mind," Her voice sounded like it was in between a meow and a hiss. "You can use it to persuade anybody to do your bidding." The feelings in Tigerclaw were very odd. He first felt the pain of a heartbroken queen, who had lost her kits and her mate. Then, searing revenge shot over him. Fire blazed through his whole body, giving him a bloodthirsty feeling of searching for the betrayal. As Mapleshade walked into the lake and sat in it, sitting behind Brokenstar, her amber eyes were glowing. "Take it to use." She whispered.


End file.
